Pensioners are celebrating a victory after a bus company announced plans to reinstate the hourly 44 service from Crewe to Nantwich.

Residents on London Road were seething after bus operator D&G announced last October, plans to cut the service.

It was semi-replaced by extending the number 6 bus to Nantwich which followed a different route, missing out passengers who depended on the service.

Campaigners claim, councillors tried talking them out of appealing for its return, branding the fight as ‘useless’.

But bosses at GHA coaches, said, by combining the new service with a before and after school contract, the service is able to run commercially and will be reinstated on April 7.

Wendy Hardcombe of Wright Court, Nantwich, spearheaded the campaign, complaining not only does the bus come every two hours it also takes over 50 minutes to get into Crewe.

The 72-year-old said: “The 44 bus used to go through Shavington along London Road and into Nantwich, it’s only since they have got this new development in Stapeley that it’s changed.

“They have to give 56 days from the change of a timetable to when it becomes operational, we did not know anything about it.

“I live in a new development with 50 other residents and there are a lot of people living there who are elderly and others who don’t have a car.

“Staff at GHA have been really good, the bus is back running hourly during the week which is a great asset to the people here, I just want to praise GHA for listening to our problems.”

GHA assistant depot manager Chris Stubbs added: “By taking the 44 off and extending the number 6 bus, it changed the route completely and there were people who were struck.

“A lot of these residents are elderly and would have to walk over half a mile across a railway crossing to gain access to the new service.

“The service will start at 9am doing a school run Monday to Friday, there will be stop at 3pm to go back and do another school run and we have decided to put on the Nantwich to Crewe at 5.30pm because we knew it would be quite busy.”

A spokesperson for GHA added there was no feedback to suggest a need to put on a service that started earlier than 9am.